ISO 15836-1:2017 establishes 15 core metadata elements for cross-domain resource description. These terms are part of a larger set of metadata vocabularies maintained by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. Properties in the /terms/ namespace are included in ISO 15836-2.

ISO 15836-1:2017 does not limit what might be a resource.

ISO 15836-1:2017 does not provide implementation guidelines. However, the elements are typically used in the context of an application profile which constrains or specifies their use in accordance with local or community-based requirements and policies.